Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method and an image capturing system for simultaneously capturing physiological signals and (raw) image data of a volume segment of an examination object.
Description of the Prior Art
US 2004/0102693 A1 describes a method of synchronizing image data with physiological data, by time stamps being used during the capture of image data, the time stamps being generated by a first clock, and by time stamps being used during the capture of physiological data, these time stamps being generated by a second clock.
DE 60 2005 005 924 T2 describes a uniform data format for measuring devices.
With functional tomography, physiological functions in the inside of a living examination object are displayed with the aid of an imaging method. Functional magnetic resonance tomography is especially known here, with which, in particular based on the blood oxygenation (BOLD effect), activated brain areas of the examination object can be displayed with a high spatial resolution. However a dynamic heart tomography examination, a time-resolved tomography examination of joint movements or a perfusion tomography examination (i.e. the display of blood flow in organs and tissue) also form part of the field of functional tomography.
The evaluation of functional tomography is significantly influenced here by physiological (interference) signals such as for instance breathing or heartbeat. In particular, breathing causes an unwanted influence on the oxygen saturation of the blood and is consequently considered to be an interference variable, which negatively affects statistical results of the functional tomography.
In a functional MR tomography examination, an unwanted, physiologically induced signal change can contribute up to 60% to a variance and thus can considerably influence the sensitivity of results (i.e. result images). It must be taken into account here that in the case of functional MR tomography the portion of physiological interference signals grows with an increasing magnetic field strength. Since functional MR tomography is currently almost exclusively performed with field strengths of 3 Tesla or more, consideration of the physiological signals while evaluating the results of a functional MR tomography examination is of decisive importance.